Is Mike Wenzloff still active on this forum?

[AHill]

I have a couple of Wenzloff saws. They are amazing. The first one I got was a Seaton panel saw. It was the first premium saw I got, and it taught me the meaning of sharp for saws. I don't think the nib's purpose was not to function as a warning for when to stop the upstroke. Back in the day, you purchased a saw whose length was sized to your particular arm length. That way, the anthropometrics (body size) were accommodated in the length of the saw. Should be the same today, but very few full size saw makers offer different lengths of saws. A bit different for panel saws, which is what you are using. I believe panel saws were a compromise between portability (fits in toolbox) vs. functionality. Takes more strokes with a panel saw compared to a full length saw.

The Seaton saws were taper ground. Wenzloff still has full sized saws available for purchase thru his website.

[DCarr10760]

Hi Marv,

Good questions. I bet you don't see nibs on more modern saws because people in general don't really use saws as much or as often as they once did. Where the nib really came in handy was when I was actually kneeling on the work piece up on saw horses using a double overhand grip (like a pit saw). I couldn't look around to see the toe on the bottom of the work piece and I wanted to use every inch of the blade that I possibly could. Seeing the nib told me that I was nearing the end of the up-stroke and that I still had enough teeth left in the kerf to drive down hard safely. I don't think too many people use a saw this way anymore. I don't intend to do too much more of it myself.

I considered marking the blade with a Sharpie marker to alert me that the end of the blade was near until I noticed the nib in the ideal spot. As you mention there are plenty of other ways to mark the blade, but I'm not arguing that fashion and aesthetics are not a factor, just that I doubt that such a widespread feature would be purely decorative.

I wonder if customers would pick up a saw and put the handle gunstock-style in the crook of their arm and touch the nib with the base of their pointer finger (or some like measure) as a rough gauge for an optimal length saw blade. (I have long arms and wished the saw blade was longer by an inch or two). But if my arms were shorter I wouldn't want to have to lift that extra weight thousands of times in a working day. I'd want the saw sized to fit me.

You're right about the sharpness, tooth geometry and all. Mike picked that all out for me and I really like what he did. Iirc the saw is taper ground, and is 6 PPI [5 tpi]. Mike called it a half-rip, but I don't know what that means.

I didn't mean to imply that the presence of the nib, or the shape of the handle made it a great saw, all of the factors he put together (with a good design) worked together for that.

I was just surprised at how a well made, well designed tool made a hard job actually pleasant!

David